I will admit: the title serves as a clickbait. It does not in any way refer to Percy Jackson or Ginny Weasley of their respective fictional universes. It refers, with apologies to both fandoms, to the Mars 2020 mission, which comprises the Perseverance Rover (officially nicknamed Percy) and the Ingenuity Robotic Helicopter(again, nicknamed Ginny).
Mars 2020 was launched from Earth on an Atlas V launch vehicle at 11:50:00 UTC on 30th July 2020 and touched down in Jezero crater on Mars at 20:55 UTC on 18th February 2021. The main aim of the mission concerns ancient astrobiology: in layman terms, the possibility of life having existed in prehistoric times on Mars. The rover will investigate the surface’s geological processes and history and search for evidence, or biosignatures, of past microbial life and water. Percy’s structure is much like its predecessor(Curiosity). It has a five jointed robotic arm, a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, two lithium-ion rechargeable batteries and is equipped with seven instruments: the Mastcam Z(an advanced camera system), the Mars Environmental Dynamic Analyzer(or MEDA for short, intended to measure wind speed/direction, temperature, relative humidity, etc), Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment(Moxie for short, an exploration technology investigation that will produce oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide), the Planetary Instrument for XRay Lithochemistry(PIXL, an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer that will also contain an imager with high resolution that permits more detailed detection and analysis of chemical elements than ever before), the RADAR Imager for Mars’ Subsurface Experiment(RIMFAX, a ground-penetrating radar that will provide centimeter-scale resolution of the geologic structure of the subsurface), SHERLOC-Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals(enough said) and the SuperCam(no, it’s not Superman’s camera, it’s an instrument that can provide imaging, chemical composition analysis, and mineralogy). Ginny, on the other hand, has a much simpler, yet daunting task: it will demonstrate the technology for rotorcraft flight in the extremely thin Martian atmosphere. If it works as expected, it will achieve the first powered flight on another planet, and NASA will be able to build on the design for future Mars missions.
In short, another rocket launched for Mars, another rover roaming around on the Red Planet; this time with a toy helicopter in the picture and a huge leap for humankind, ever trying to explore Space: the Final Frontier.
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